Chris Crucial: Mike Pence is 'no' on Trump 2024
PLUS: A legal mess in Georgia!
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1. Pence says ‘no’: Former Vice President Mike Pence won’t be endorsing Donald Trump in the 2024 election, he confirmed on Friday afternoon.
“It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year,” Pence said in an interview on Fox News.
Pence expanded on his reasoning in a statement, noting:
Sadly, over the past few years, I have seen the former President turn away from our conservative agenda. Our differences go beyond upholding my oath to the Constitution on January 6th. The former President's latest reversal on the Communist Chinese ownership and control of TikTok is just one of the many breaking points I’ve witnessed these past few years.
On one level, this is extraordinary. Pence spent four years as Trump’s loyal VP — the man next to the man. He was unrelentingly supportive of Trump’s every move, providing conservative cover for the president over and over again.
So, for him to say that he will not back Trump would then seem like a big deal. This is the guy who worked most closely with Trump in the White House!
On another level, this makes all the sense in the world — for two reasons.
First, Trump vilified Pence for refusing to ignore the Constitution and send the 2020 election back to the states. When rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, some of them were chanting “Hang Mike Pence.” I don’t think you forget that sort of thing.
Second, Pence is almost certainly done with elected office. His 2024 presidential bid never got off the ground — a sign of how far outside of the mainstream of the Republican party he currently is. And, at age 64, it’s very hard for me to imagine Pence somehow coming back around as a desirable political commodity any time soon.
Unlike, say, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed Trump to try and preserve his political future, Pence is under no such pressures. Which means he can tell the truth about the former president.
How do I know Pence thinks he’s done with running for office? Back in August 2023, in a Republican debate, the candidates were asked to raise their hand if they would vote for Trump even if he was convicted of a crime. Pence, who probably held out some slim hope of making a run at the GOP nomination back then, raised his hand.
And, one more thing before we laud Pence too much. It’s worth considering that in the same interview where the former vice president said he wouldn’t endorse Trump, Pence would not reveal who he will actually vote for in the fall — other than to say he could never vote for Joe Biden.
So…..
2. The Georgia mess: On Friday, an Atlanta judge ruled that Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis could keep the election interference case she brought against Donald Trump if — and only if — the special prosecutor she appointed to run it, Nathan Wade, resigned.
Wade promptly did so — but the damage was done.
Trump’s lawyers had alleged that the entire case — which delves into Trump’s attempts to overturn the result in Georgia in 2020 — should be thrown out because Willis and Wade had developed a romantic relationship.
In his ruling, Judge Scott McAfee made clear that he believed Willis had behaved badly. He said that the Wade-Willis relationship had the “appearance of impropriety” — even if there was no proof of a clear conflict of interest. McAfee said that Willis had shown a “tremendous lapse in judgment” in the relationship and blasted her pointed testimony in the case as “unprofessional.”
As the New York Times wrote of the decision:
Nathan Wade’s resignation hurts Fani Willi's prosecution of Donald Trump and his allies in two ways: First, she has described him as a confidante, and someone that she could trust to manage the prosecution team. Second, she loses the institutional memory of someone who, by her count, has spent “865 days” on the job.
Trump’s lawyers have said they will appeal McAfee’s ruling — continuing to try to get Willis removed from the case entirely. The trial, which was initially expected to start in August, is now seen as unlikely to begin until 2025.
3. Ask me anything: Every Friday, I do a livestream on my YouTube channel where I take any and all questions from my subscribers! If you aren’t a subscriber yet to my channel, get on it! It’s easy — and free! Below is today’s edition. Enjoy!
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
“You want the ball in the hands of the best player on the field. That player is Donald Trump.” — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, desperately trying to be Trump’s VP pick
ONE GOOD CHART
Donald Trump ran in 2016 on a promise to bring down the national debt. This chart — via Steve Rattner — makes clear he, uh, didn’t fulfill that promise.
SONG OF THE DAY
I have confessed to getting way into ambient music during the pandemic. I am not sure Four Tet totally qualifies but I really dig the sounds (without lyrics) that Kieran Hebden makes. His new album is called “Three” and this is “Loved” from it.
I have been 100% vindicated.
EXACTLY like I have been saying for WEEKS, there was NO "conflict". It was an absurd smear campaign by Trump World, meant to distract and INTIMIDATE anyone who has the temerity to try and bring Trump to much deserved justice.
Judge McAfee ruled the ONLY way he could, on the facts, and the ONLY pertinent issue on the table....the preposterous attempt to get Willis disqualified over a fake "conflict"
In many ways. Trump World was successful. They damaged Willis' and Wade's reputation with baseless smears, innuendo, speculation and gossip. Sending a strong message of INTIMIDATION to ANYONE who dares challenge the serial CRIMINAL Donald Trump.
McAfee, being a very conservative Republican, (don't try the canard that GA judge elections are "non-partisan"...McAfee is a former member of the conservative Federalist Society who was an active Republican in law school) showed both his right wing bona-fides and him being intimidated to do what other right wing conservatives have done in several instances that helped TRUMP.
James Comey, (conservative Republican) when there was no evidence of anything even close to anything illegal in the Hillary Clinton email witch hunt, still felt the need to go WAY beyond ethical practices of the FBI and smeared Hillary with gratuitous baloney that the FBI is supposed to NEVER do after an investigation that results in no charges.
He then went to give Trump a MASSIVE boost just days before the 2016 election by needlessly bringing the lame "but, her emails" investigation into the public sphere while COVERING UP the very real investigation that the same FBI was conducting (much more serious than the specious "but, her emails" baloney) over Trump's OBVIOUS and BLATANT collusion with Russia.
Bill Barr, after he got his hands on the Mueller report, but before he released it to the pubic, that was FULL of devastating detail of Trump OBVIOUS collusion with Russia and multiple plainly grossly illegal acts of obstruction of Justice, went public and LIED with the high profile MISREPRESENTATION of what the investigation actually revealed.
Just a short time ago Robert Hur (another conservative Republican...sensing a pattern here???) after finding no evidence of President Biden purposely retaining secret documents, which Trump did far, FAR worse, again, like James Comey decided to go pubic, outside of Justice department guidelines and rules, and SMEARED Joe Biden with gratuitous misleading (read: FALSE) attacks on President Biden's mental acuity. No, Biden did NOT show usual lapses in memory any more than anyone would do trying to recall events from years ago as we now know virtue of the transcript being released.
Now, Judge McAfee (another conservative Republican...what else) is following the same script or, after finding NO BASIS for the issue at hand (false accusations of "conflict"...the ONLY pertinent issue) he gives his best effort to further smear Willis, that helps TRUMP!!!
Trump World is really good at intimidation and instilling fear like any Mafia Boss and Mafia Mob..
It's disgusting.
Hey Chris, it may or may not be a big mess in Georgia. I know many of the lawyers involved. I strongly doubt losing Wade will slow them down or hurt the case. He was always a questionable hire . And the pundits who say the case will lose credibility b/c of this issue are off base. A jury will not care about this issue; many will not know about it. There is no automatic right of appeal. The trial court judge would need to give them a certificate to appeal. If he doesn't , I don't see this issue as necessarily slowing down the case. But the fact so many are indicted has always meant getting the case to a trial in a timely fashion was a risky bet. We will see.